Largely driven by a spate of new laws and policies, including new restrictions on the type of ID that voters can use and flawed voter purges, conservative legislatures stopped at nothing to make it harder to register to vote, harder to cast a ballot, and harder to have a vote counted.

It's a shame. Voting is sacred; it's the only way we ensure we have a government that represents our interests. Of course, we've learned there are some who don't want all Americans to participate and have a say. The jig is up.

Voter protection advocates around the country have spent the past two years working to uphold the right to vote in this country. These victories would not have been possible without the courage of everyday Americans who stood up for their right to participate in democracy.

In the weeks before Election Day, voters are again being targeted with intimidation tactics and deceptive practices to confuse or scare them out of casting a ballot. In Ohio and Wisconsin, for example, billboards popped up in primarily African-American neighborhoods with messages such as "Voter Fraud is a Felony! Up to 3½ YRS and a $10,000 Fine," designed to alarm and confuse residents.

Like citizenship ceremonies, John F. Kennedy's words on immigrants to the U.S. were once a source of inspiration across the nation and among both political parties. "Every ethnic minority, in seeking its own freedom, helped strengthen the fabric of liberty in American life.

Since Pennsylvania is a swing state, it has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over voter ID laws. The specifics of restrictive voter ID laws mean that many voters with a photo ID still might not be able to cast a vote that will count.

All of these voter suppression laws are really targeting minorities, students and the elderly, as well as voters with disabilities. We need to prevent bad legislation from preventing people to vote in the 2012 U.S. election.